Williston, ND is a small town roughly 40 miles from the Canadian border. Although you may not have heard of it before, Williston is home to the nation’s largest boom in employment. Oil rigs constantly pump the Williston basin, a huge expanse reaching from Northern Saskatchewan all the way into South Dakota. Last August the rigs broke ground. Today, the oil companies are hiring by the hundreds, as people from all over the Rocky Mountain and Western states flock here looking for work.
The problem is that there simply isn’t enough housing for these folks. The last time this happened, in the early 80′s, the boom brought more than 5,000 people moved into a town of just 12,000. When they left, the population declined to its original level. The result was a huge debt for the small city. Today, officials are afraid of the same thing happening. Mancamps are used to house those workers without a home. Others book motel rooms by the month. One thing’s for sure, although there may not be a nice place to settle down, there sure is a lot of opportunity to work and if you have an RV, this is a great place to camp.